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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536046">futile</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devastated_Ghost/pseuds/Devastated_Ghost'>Devastated_Ghost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Haikyuu x Kuroko no Basuke, Kuroo!Reader, Major character death - Freeform, Yandere Imayoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:02:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,315</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devastated_Ghost/pseuds/Devastated_Ghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All you literally did was be nice, be human, to him. Unfortunately, you caught his eye. You managed to dodge a bullet once, but you pay the price for it years later.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Imayoshi Shouichi/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>futile</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey everyone! I wrote this as a practice fanfiction for myself. I'm really happy this is a work I managed to complete even with all the writer's blocks. </p><p>I probably made Kuroo and some other characters sound OOC, so I'll come back to refine this work sometime in the future. For now, this version has yet to be proofread because I can't control my excitement at sharing it.</p><p>Please, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your mind was still reeling from shock over how you got yourself into this predicament. One moment you were on your way out of the iron school gates, the next, you were conked out after someone pressed on one of your pressure points. When you next woke up, you were inside the basketball gym, huddling up against the furthest corner from the gym doors. </p><p>Your earphones were still in your ear, playing one of Team Grimoire’s tracks – although you couldn’t quite tell what it was and only knew it to be from Team Grimoire thanks to their distinct hardstyle signature. Being a pair of true wireless earphones, you were able to continue listening to music without needing your phone to be too near you; however, its range was a mere ten metres. While your phone didn’t seem to be on your body at the moment, judging by how stable the Bluetooth connection was, you could safely approximate a ten-metre radius around you, and maybe a metre or two less through walls.</p><p>You were still quite disoriented when you heard footsteps walking over to you. In a matter of a few seconds, a shadow loomed over you before someone kneeled down to take a good look at you. You thought you recognize this person, he seemed to be the captain of the Touou team, judging by the jersey he wore, as well as his jersey number, 4. What was his name again?</p><p>He didn’t seem like a threatening individual during your brief interactions with him. Always polite, pleasant and charming. Yet, your gut told you there was something more about this man. It almost felt like something sinister was lurking beneath his portrayal of himself towards you, but you couldn’t quite place your finger on it. It was always so out of reach, with his pleasant aura that was almost too pleasant to a fault distracting you enough from the true menace that he was. Rumours spread easily in this school, even across different grades. It didn’t take you, a second year, long to hear about the dangers that appeared to lurk beneath the newly elected captain of Touou’s basketball team – more so as Wakamatsu was in your class.</p><p>“Ara~ Do you not recognize me, kitten?” he drawled, his Kansai accent showing, “I’m hurt, (N/N)-chan. I thought you liked me.”</p><p>It took a while before your lips parted to speak, your mind needing some time to process what he said, especially through the constant bass of your music. You were silently grateful that your earphones were not lodged deep enough into your ear canal to block out his voice. Once your words formed, you retaliated.</p><p>“What-since when have I ever displayed a clear liking towards a kidnapper like you? You should release me, senpai, my onii-chan wouldn’t appreciate me being late back home,” you growled.</p><p>“But didn’t you just say the other day that you thought I was cute, even though it won’t get you to willingly approach me? (Y/N)-chan, you’re so sweet, even when you don’t know it yourself,” the captain reached out a hand to caress your cheek tenderly, causing you to flinch and huddle up against the corner tighter.</p><p>“You should review your own words sometimes, Deranged Senpai.”</p><p>“Aww, how cold,” the captain stood up, “Don’t even think of escape, neko-chan, my men will stop you.” And then he left, much to your relief. You assumed he was doing whatever basketball captains did. However, the way he called his teammates “his men” gave you an uneasy feeling that you couldn’t shake off.</p><p>Your earphones notified you of an incoming call and you reached a hand to press answer on instinct. It shocked you that the captain could have such an effect on you to the point where you forgot you could even retaliate against him, but shoved that train of thought aside for the time being. What mattered now was that this was your chance to call for help, but you had to be smart about it. With the hand that reached for the earbud earlier, you pretended to scratch your ear before bringing that hand down. You then clasped both hands together and brought the earbud close to your lips, pretending that you were deep in thought.</p><p>“(N/N)-chan, you didn’t tell me you had a date today and were coming home late,” your brother’s voice answered from the other end of the call, his tone teasing. Recognizing his voice brought you instant relief, perhaps your situation wasn’t so dire.</p><p>“Onii-chan, now’s not the time. I need your help. Touou Gakuen, basketball gym,” you replied, giving the location of your whereabouts first as you could get found out any moment.</p><p>“What’s wrong, (N/N)-chan?”</p><p>Your eyes flitted over the basketball court, watching as the other occupants paid you no heed – or so you thought. There were players still practicing, be it their accuracy through shooting a basketball through the hoop, or pairing up to do some combination moves for use in a competitive match. You almost didn’t catch it, but one of the players – a brunette who looked so timid and shook as though he was thrown in the snow without clothes – was observing you. You didn’t have much time. Even though he looked positively harmless, you’d rather be on the safe side due to your now-constant paranoia. To you, no one was your ally.</p><p>“Kidnapped and held hostage by someone who looked like they were the captain of the basketball team. Jersey number 4, black hair, black eyes, wears glasses, maybe as tall as you... Anyway, whatever plan you have, tell me over the call. I won’t be able to respond to reduce suspicion, but if shit hits the ceiling, I’ll sound out. I probably have an hour or so of battery life left on my phone max doing this, though.” With that, you changed your sitting pose again, this time sitting cross-legged and leaning on the wall.</p><p>“To think Imayoshi would actually be desperate enough to capture my cute imouto… I’ll tell you more about it later. For now, I just need you to stay at the basketball gym long enough until it empties. From what I can tell, usually most of the members leave now since Touou’s curriculum isn’t very friendly to idiots. Though Aomine is the exception around there.</p><p>“I’ll gather Bokuto-san, Akaashi-san, and a couple of my own team members. If we want to get you out, the best chance is through distraction. I’ll figure out a way, just take note of where Aomine and Imayoshi are. The miracle will be difficult to control if he gets out of hand, the captain is the centerpiece to whatever fuck he’s doing so I’ll handle him myself. Bokuto will get you out of here, and we’ll figure things out from there.”</p><p>Rely on Tetsurou to come up with a solid plan, and there he went, with a good plan done in five minutes. Give it to the permanent bedhead of the Kuroo household to be so dependable when it came down to protecting his little sister. Just knowing your onii-san was coming gave you some comfort and hope in this otherwise inescapable situation. </p><p>True enough, within the hour, most of the gym cleared off and was fairly empty. The captain – Imayoshi, you know knew him to be - did come back to check on the remaining players. You noticed that as the gym became emptier, he paid more attention to you, moving closer to you gradually. It didn’t take Tetsurou’s smartass brain for you to get the hint: trying anything at all is futile. During this time, while waiting for your brother, you just quietly drew up some scenarios in your head, lay out some micro-plans of your own to sync up with your brother’s.</p><p>“You’re quiet,” the captain commented, walking up to you.</p><p>“What do you expect me to say? Or do?” you snapped, already fed up with his fake pleasantries.</p><p>“FYI, we’re close,” Kuroo updated through the call. That had you rethinking your next move. It’d be better just to distract him first. Just put up with it a bit longer, and you’ll be home-free. </p><p>“(Y/N) ya, is that how you talk to your senpai?” he responded with a slightly aggravated smile, reaching out a hand to caress your cheek like he did the first time he talked to you today.</p><p>“Maybe if you hadn’t dragged me here, things might have gone differently,” your voice took on a more shy tone, “Maybe I’d have gone out with you if you’d asked.” Your (E/C) eyes glanced to the side, your cheeks lighting up a faint red – though not from embarrassment, as you’d have him believe. </p><p>‘How cute, your face is red.”</p><p>“Get your hand off me, creep,” you growled, shoving his hand away from your cheek. He let you do so easily, but his ears perked up at the sound of something solid dropping. Shit, your earbud!<br/>
Imayoshi grabbed the offending earbud and gave it a once-over, before lunging for the earbud in your other ear. Since he didn’t know which side the other earbud was, he went for both. You did try to stop him, but obviously, basketball reflexes gave him a reaction advantage you didn’t have.</p><p>Thank Yato-san for Tetsurou’s appearance at this crucial moment.</p><p>“You know, messing with my baby sister is really a horrible idea, Shouichi. Didn’t I warn you not to mess with her?” Kuroo mentioned, pushing the basketball captain’s body off of you. You were relieved, but knew his help would be for nothing if you didn’t get going now. You took a glance at the current situation and was surprised to see the basketball gym practically deserted save for you, Imayoshi and Tetsurou. </p><p>“Just head outside, he’s already there,” was all Tetsurou said, before he really started holding Imayoshi in place. </p><p>You did just that, dashing outside as fast as your own legs could carry you. Bokuto really was there, waiting for you on his bike. You didn’t recall him cycling, but didn’t question it. Your brain was on hyper mode, making a million thoughts and scenarios in your head every second. The fastest way to get out of here and to safety was on the bike. So you hopped on without hesitation, trusting Bokuto to take you somewhere safe. Sure, there’s the infamous Aomine somewhere here, but even that stupidly tall Miracle couldn’t outrun two wheels. </p><p>It seemed that Tetsurou’s plan was successful; no one came to chase after you and Bokuto. </p><p>“We’re heading over to Kenma-chan’s house first, your house isn’t the best option at the moment,” Bokuto informed you. </p><p>Huh, that’s weird. To what extent would the Touou basketball captain go to have you in his arms? You shoved that thought aside, not wanting to think about that at the moment.<br/>
-------------------------------------------------------------<br/>
Imayoshi snarled and tried pushing Tetsurou over, barely even making him budge an inch before the tall bedhead took control of the situation once more. He didn’t know much about your brother, just that he came from Nekoma High and was the current captain of the volleyball team. Beyond that, from what he could observe of Tetsurou during his…excursions over to your house, the bedhead was usually quite laidback, but overly protective of his own younger sister. Most guys who came by the Kuroo household would be subject to intensive surveillance, with only a pudding-head called Kenma Kozume being the sole exception.</p><p>“You messed with the wrong girl, you snake,” Tetsurou snarled, giving an unpleasant smirk that almost sent chills down the megane’s spine. That’s saying a lot about your usually-chill onii-san. If he wanted to, he himself could technically reach and even surpass Imayoshi’s level of sly. As it was, Kuroo wasn’t a shitty, manipulative piece of shit, which explained just how willing his own friends and teammates were when it came to helping him.</p><p>The evidence? </p><p>It wasn’t just Sakurai who was reluctant about helping Imayoshi keep you trapped. Even Susa, the usually indifferent stone of a third year, as well as Wakamatsu, who wasn’t just your classmate, but a good lunch buddy of yours, hesitated. They probably wouldn’t have helped their manipulative and controlling captain if not for the threats that he held against them. Indeed, even one like Imayoshi had connections to hold his promises true, promises of danger or a missing pet. When it came down to altering grades? No problem. Nobody was eager to test the lengths Imayoshi would go to just to get someone to obey him. In fact, Tetsurou’s accomplices kept them distracted, they willingly delayed themselves a few minutes, hoping to buy you enough time to get far enough away that nobody could chase you down. </p><p>In contrast, Tetsurou’s friends held a determination and showed no hint of reluctance when it came to aiding their friend’s sister. Whatever he asked of them, no problem? Not even for Kenma who had to distract Aomine with only his brain, considering just how easy it would be for the blue Miracle to overpower Kenma’s small frame. It seemed Nekoma’s quote was fitting for this exact situation: they were like the blood in the body. Blood gets transferred to different parts of the body, and he was the brain. </p><p>Kenma shook his head – now wasn’t the time to think about such trivial things, he reasoned. But in that split second, Aomine’s short attention span had already gone to something else: the bike that was racing in the direction of the school gate, with his childhood friend’s sister behind. The bluenette didn’t hesitate to race for the bike, knowing his long legs and reflexes should be fast enough to catch up to the escapee. Kenma sighed. </p><p>At least he knew he delayed that idiot long enough for him to be unable to catch up. The momentum and acceleration, as well as the route, should be more than enough to throw him off track, or so he hoped.<br/>
-------------------------------------------------------------<br/>
“Pretty brave of you to try that on me, you bitch!” you heard a deep voice yell behind you. </p><p>No, it can’t be… Yet you recognized that to be Aomine’s voice. </p><p>“Didn’t expect Kenma to lose him this early. Don’t worry, (Y/N)-chan. We’ve got this figured out,” Bokuto assured, before taking a left away from the usual route to Kenma’s house. You thought you knew what’s going on, and you were right: Bokuto’s intentionally taking a longer route and circling around some parts to tire Aomine out. Needless to say, it worked, although he did get too close for comfort at one point in time. Not even that athletic hunk of man could chase down Bokuto’s cycling speed, especially not for an extended period of time.</p><p>You and Bokuto both managed to reach Kenma’s house with no more trouble. Unsurprisingly, considering how long it took to wear Aomine down, the cute little puddinghead was already home. With him were the other accomplices Kuroo asked for help: Akaashi and Lev, from Fukurodani and Nekoma respectively. You doubted you’d seen the white-haired male before, but shrugged it off, not worrying too much since Kenma and the others were relaxed around him.</p><p>Now all that you had to do was wait for your brother’s safe return home.<br/>
-------------------------------------------------------------<br/>
A few weeks later, and Imayoshi was hunting you down tirelessly. He regretted letting Tetsurou hold him back from his dearest kitten. There wasn’t much he could do about it, and it was pointless to try to threaten you into returning back to the gym since Tetsurou’s phone was already dead by the time he managed to take control of your bedhead brother. Neither of the teammates knew how to contact you or your fellow friends who aided in the escape(well, Wakamatsu did but kept hush-hush on it), and in such a short span of time, the basketball team eventually had to leave the school compound before things got suspicious.</p><p>Within that time period since the malicious captain first lost you, you had already transferred schools to Nekoma High, which was in a different Tokyo ward. Although Imayoshi did get a summon from the police to come down for questioning, without sufficient evidence, nothing could be done against him, and he had to thank his lucky stars and whichever deity was blessing him. He took it as a warning to be more careful with his actions since there might be whistleblowers even amongst the team members he manipulated into submission.</p><p>Because you went to Nekoma High, it was difficult to even keep track of you as not only were you in a different high school now, he had no acquaintances or connections to use in Nekoma. Transferring any of his basketball members over was also out of the question as the sharp-minded Momoi would have sensed that something was amiss. </p><p>Years flew by with no glimmer of hope for Imayoshi until he found an opening: through the career path you had chosen: therapy and counselling services for those with mental health issues, such as depression and personality disorders, or even just to have someone to talk to and listen to what they had to say. It didn’t take long for a plan to form in his head.<br/>
-------------------------------------------------------------<br/>
When the door opened for your next patient to come in, you froze in shock. …how? You and your brother had both been careful to avoid places Imayoshi would frequent, right down to the very district he worked and stayed in. That meant you guys were in the Kanto region for both work and stay, a place your brother deemed far enough away to worry a bit less about the deranged male following in your tracks. </p><p>“Miss me, (N/N)-ya?” his familiar, chilling Kansai accent was still present in his voice despite the many, many years that passed since you last came face to face with him.</p><p>“How… No, it doesn’t matter. Get out of here before I call security!” you threatened, a look of determination tinged with fear on your face.</p><p>“I don’t think that’s a wise idea, kitten. As we speak, Tetsurou is facing some… difficulties. It will only get worse for him the more you resist,” he chuckled.</p><p>“There’s no evidence of that, you bastard,” you snarled in response, to which the ex-captain only smiled knowingly. Despite dabbling in human psychology for a couple projects back in university, it was still as difficult as ever to read the sly Kansai guy. Still, you’d rather risk it since your loving older brother isn’t exactly incapable. He could do it many times before, he’ll be fine now.</p><p>“Are you really sure about that, (N/N)-chan?” that knowing smile on his face irked you to no end.</p><p>“I don’t particularly care, you dipshit. Just get out of my office.”</p><p>“If you insist, kitten. But know that your efforts are futile,” Imayoshi tossed you a thumbdrive, which you caught effortlessly, and left your office, much to your relief. You decided not to bother with the thumbdrive such that your mind could focus on your work, as well as the remaining patients you had to see before you called it a day.</p><p>When you got home later that night, an uneasy feeling set over you as you unlocked the door. The apartment you and your brother shared was pitch black, with all the lights off. Usually, at this time, Tetsurou would be home making dinner or gaming on his PS5(Plash Speed 5); tonight was exceptional as there was zero signs of him. You tried your best to shrug off the feeling and flicked the switch for the living room light on. </p><p>You wished you had followed your guts.</p><p>The entire apartment was exactly how you and Tetsurou left it when you both left for work earlier this morning, save for your own brother on the verge of his death at the center of the living room. Tetsurou was hanging from the ceiling with nothing but Imayoshi’s shoulders as support. The contrast and in turn, the delicate balance between a normal, mundane life and the tinge of craziness that accompanied it sent your body crashing to the floor in shock, your fingers flying to your lips to cover the incoming screams. </p><p>“Okaeri, (N/N)-chan,” your stalker – that’s right, he got promoted to a stalker considering how persistent he was at trying to get you – mocked, greeting you with an innocuous grin. It sickened you to the core, how someone so terrible could act so normal, like a normal human being. Still, you tried to focus on finding a way out of this situation. You were smart enough, or so you hoped.</p><p>All you needed was a chair with enough height to support Tetsurou’s weight such that the pressure around his neck could be relieved even a little bit. Or you could go to the kitchen under the false pretence of hospitality, maybe even just something to get yourself to calm down… Your mind was racing with possibilities. You settled on the second option, knowing there were plenty of knives in the kitchen. All you’d need after that was a good shot.</p><p>Still, you had to keep up an act so that your plan couldn’t be figured out – at least, not fast enough.</p><p>‘I-imayoshi-senpai, please, just release my brother,” you implored, hoping that you sounded realistic enough. Well, you didn’t have to. You loved your onii-chan so much you’d hoped he’d let him go,<br/>
“Why don’t you go get us each a drink first, kitten?” he had a knowing smirk on his face. </p><p>“…fine. But if I come back to a dead brother…” you left that threat hanging since nothing good came to mind. Oh well. At least you could act on your plan now. </p><p>Once in the safety of the kitchen, you went straight for the knifes drawer first. Surprisingly, there was only one knife there, which told you something was up. Not that it mattered, since your aim was good enough to handle such an important shot. You were appreciative of the times when your brother would have you help out for volleyball practice and made you work on your accuracy when tossing volleyballs up for the team members to spike.</p><p>You then went for the drinks. An extra, but not unbeneficial, part of the pan came to mind: spiking his drink. You could choose a sleeping pill, but you decided against it, knowing how unreliable sleeping pills tended to be. So you settled for a different option: the moonshine(75vol% alcohol)that your brother kept for special occasions. It didn’t matter that the taste was too strong – the kick should be more than enough for anyone inexperienced to be tipsy. </p><p>So you filled up a glass with moonshine and a glass of (drink) before heading back out to the living room, hiding the knife inside your jacket. You passed the glass of alcohol to Imayoshi before taking a sip of your own drink, steeling yourself for the decisive moment. As planned, Imayoshi took a sip – and a pretty big one at that, too – of the moonshine. What you didn’t expect, was how he shrugged off the alcohol like it was nothing and easily gulped down a good portion of the content.</p><p>“Heh, I’m disappointed you thought this would work. Though I can’t say I blame you, since moonshine isn’t just hard to get, it’s also hard to swallow,” Imayoshi merely chuckled, “It’s a good thing my alcohol tolerance is naturally high, no?”</p><p>Oh well. </p><p>“I’m sorry, do you want mine to clear your throat?” you mockingly asked, offering your cup to him.</p><p>“No thanks, kitten. I already took precautions,” he seemed to know what’s going on. It almost felt like you were playing into his trap.</p><p>It didn’t matter. The time has come.</p><p>“Imayoshi-san, I believe you should still need water. It’s pretty tiring to hold my heavyweight brother up, yes?” </p><p>“What you think you’re doing now is futile, sweetheart.”</p><p>“Then maybe you underestimated me,” was all you said, before taking the knife out of your pocket and taking aim at the rope, launching it straight at the rope. Your shot held true, with the knife slicing through the rope effortlessly. Tetsurou’s body slumped forward on Imayoshi’s shoulders and crashed to the floor unceremoniously. </p><p>At first, you were relieved. Once he’s free, he should be able to help you out of this like he always had, right? </p><p>Wrong.</p><p>Tetsurou was unmoving despite the heavy impact, while Imayoshi didn’t seem to be in a state of panic. You rushed over to his side to check up on him, made sure he was still alive. Two fingers on the pulse point on his neck, ears now focusing on the possible sounds of him breathing… Yet your ears couldn’t pick up your beloved brother’s breaths, while your hands felt no pulse. Not wishing to believe what there was already evidence of, you put your ear against his chest, right above where his heart was. There was no heartbeat at all, no matter how long you waited.</p><p>Your brother was dead. How could you have been so blind? So distracted by your stalker? You realised you should have felt that something was off the moment your eyes came into contact with Tetsurou’s body. His body never twitched with signs of life while you were dealing with Imayoshi. He never woke up once to even gasp for air desperately, the rope constricting his breathing so tightly that he should have awoken if he was alive. </p><p>“It’s futile, kitten. You’re mine now, and no one to run to any longer,” Imayoshi’s voice sounded too close for comfort. He applied pressure on a pressure point on your neck, and there you went, conked out into his arms, for him to do with as he pleased. </p><p>He had won.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry I did that to my favourite husbando from Haikyuu. Broke my own heart writing this ;-; I love you too, Kuroo. Maybe I'll write an x-reader fic for Kuroo too?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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